Watching Barack Obama guest on the Jay Leno show this week reminded me of when Tony Blair first came into power in the UK. On a wave of popularity and euphoria the 'people's President' is making appearances on shows like this to assure the public of his accessibilty, transparency and normality.
Interestingly this tabloid appearance wasn't gaffe free - prompting the thought that Bush might have gone but the man who writes his jokes hasn't. (Obama's gaffe was to say that his bowling skills should be seen as Special Olympics standard.)
Even more interestingly this very non-PC comment has managed to escape too much harsh criticism - even the BBC's critique makes no reference to it. More notice has been taken in the blogosphere.
For now it seems that Obama can get away with such mistakes but I am still not sure appearances on shows like Jay Leno's are in his best interest. It's on shows like this that they talk about inane things like his choice of dog or his hobbies (bowling). It was a mistake that he never would have made if he hadn't appeared on the show and it was about unnecessary and inconsequential detail.
The fact is that, even though he was trying to show it, he is not accessible, he is not transparent and he certainly isn't normal or one of us.
I think he and his advisers should bear in mind Benjamin Franklin's advice: 
"Be civil to all, sociable to many; familiar with few."
